In the design and construction of structures, such as industrial warehouses, commercial buildings, and residential homes the builders and designers focus on the identified needs of the occupants and design and build a structure to meet their needs. While this type of design affords the occupants a structure that meets their currently identified requirements, overtime, the needs of the occupants change and the original design of the structures become obsolete.
With businesses and personal structures, it is often difficult to accurately plan and project for the future needs. Underbuilding to meet current financial needs of the occupants oftentimes results in the occupants requiring to move and obtain additional or new structures, while overbuilding can lead to increased costs of up keeping a facility and the possibility that the needs of the occupant will never expend to fully utilize the space. Thus, the current building methods involve a substantial amount of speculation and are often overbuilt for the current needs of the occupants.
When the occupants eventually outgrow their current structures, they oftentimes are required to look for additional buildings or structures. The process of purchasing additional real estate can be time consuming, difficult, and expensive depending on the market. For example, when a family “outgrows” a residential structure, they move to a different to a home with more square footage. The moving process can be quite stressful, time intensive, and expensive. To prevent moving, some families add onto their existing home by adding another story. Adding an additional story onto an existing house is not easy; it's time consuming and costs the homeowner a significant sum of money.
When adding a second story onto a single story home, contractors first must demolish the existing portions of the structure, such as the roof, walls, and interior portions of the structure. The process of removing the roof, for example, begins by tearing off shingles, ripping up flashing, and removing insulation. Because these materials are nonremovably adhered to each other, either through nails or adhesive, once removed they are rendered useless and cannot be re-used. This demolition process produces a significant amount of waste and takes a considerable amount of labor to execute. The next step in traditional second floor addition process is to build a floor for the second story addition. The floor for the second story addition is located where the previous roof structure was located and the structure must be secured and strengthen to support the additional load of the second (or possibly third, fourth, etc.) story. This process requires significant amounts of labor, materials, and time to accomplish. Finally, after adding the second story walls, a new roof is built and sealed in place on top of the second story. Designing a residential structure with the intent of expanding vertically can eliminate many of these steps, making the addition process much simpler.
Moreover, if the current occupants desire a complete move, then the costs of selling their current facilities creates additional costs. On the other hand, the occupants could seek to expand and add additions onto the current structure. The current methods of additions often require complete redesign of the structures, additional structural components and the removal and disposal of significant portions of the existing structures such as the roofs, walls, and interior sections of the structure.